Four times when Ezra thought he was talking to Vader, and once when it was real.

(Disclaimer: Neocolai does not own Star Wars Rebels or anything associated with the series.)

(Thank you to EmpressRulerofallthatiswierd for this idea!) :)

4 months after Never Alone.

"M'not gonna do it."

One, they had all spent too many nights dodging stormtroopers. Two, the kid was definitely drugged. How Hera managed to slip a sleeping med into Ezra's drink without him noticing… actually, given that they were all blundering into walls, Kanan wasn't alarmed.

"Ezra, go to bed. You're senseless like the rest of us." Agitatedly Kanan scrubbed his palm over his brow. He was too exhausted to deal with this.

"You're not my master."

Great. Kanan moaned softly, rubbing his temples. "Ezra, would you please sleep it off?"

"I'm not … not'yr padw'n…" Ezra stumbled back, dragging his hand down the wall as though seeking an escape route. "Not my master."

"Kay, fine. We're going to bed." Grouchily Kanan laid a hand on his padawan's shoulder and steered him away from the wall. Ezra growled low and batted him away.

"My master's…. master's Kanan…. yr'not him."

"Then who am I?" Kanan was trying to be patient, but the bunk called to him and his head ached and he was half tempted to let the kid fall asleep in the hall if it meant he could doze for an hour.

"Vader," Ezra slurred, jabbing his finger into Kanan's chest. "Yr'not my dad… my dad… I'm gonna find'im…. Find Kanan."

Kanan's scowl lifted. He crouched before Ezra, checking the glazed eyes. "Hera gave you sleeping meds?"

A flicker of doubt. Slowly Ezra nodded.

"Thought so." Wearily Kanan stroked his chin. "Hm." The kid was a maniac when drugged. Convincing him of anything when he was coherent was trial enough…

How does Hera do it?

"Tell you what," Kanan said casually, "Let's go talk to Mom. She can find Kanan."

Hera had started this whole 'parent' debacle. She could deal with it.

"S'not my mom!" Ezra lurched away. "M-Mira. Mira Brijer. She's right."

"Not that kind of mom, kid." A hand to the back of the head kept Ezra moving. Kanan looked over his shoulder, wary of droids bearing holo-cams.

"Dn'call me kid. Not Kanan."

"Almost there."

Kanan peaked into the kitchen, smiling sheepishly when he saw Hera drooping over an untouched sapir. He pointed to the kid and mouthed, 'Meds'.

"Mm, again?" Hera staggered upright and wove her way to the door. Crouching before Ezra, she smoothed his hair back and smiled. "Hey, Ezra. Mom's tired and Dad is, too. Think you can go to sleep for a while?"

Magically Ezra's hands wound about Kanan's arm. "Do I hafta go?"

"No, sweetie." Hera blinked sluggishly. "You can stay."

Ezra yawned. "Vader was talking to me. I told'im to go'way. He said you'd find Kanan."

"I'm here now, Ezra," Kanan said, bending to lift the kid over his shoulder. A muffled protest and a flop of the head, and Ezra was unconscious.

"We are not doing late night ops again," Hera mumbled.

"Bed, Hera," Kanan instructed, steering her to her room. "I'll look after Ezra."

"Mmm. Night." The door shut and metal clattered soon after. Kanan hoped she had at least reached the bunk before shattering the lamp.

"One down."

The only insomniac left was him.

Ezra snored disjointedly, barely stirring when Kanan lifted him to his bunk. Zeb grumbled a protest about late night walkers, and Kanan almost patted his head as though he was Chopper.

Hera was right. Three straight weeks of night ops was ridiculous. Lucky for Kanan, Zeb and Sabine were already sleeping it off.

Two zoned out crew members brought enough disaster.

Kanan trudged to his own room, legs heavy and brain as dense as an asteroid. He slapped the wall several times before locating the locking mechanism. Pitching unsteadily, he shuffled inside and tapped around until the lights switched off.

A holocam flashed.

Blue-green eyes narrowed. Chopper chortled in the corner, showing off a holovid of Kanan slogging like a zombie. One dead-tired Jedi and a cheeky droid did not belong in the same quarters. Remorselessly Kanan reached through the force and flicked the droid's power switch.

Silence.

He flopped awkwardly onto the bunk and slept through Hera's alarm when she saw the deactivated Chopper next morning.